The present invention relates generally to an apparatus for removing trees or stumps and method associated with its use. More particularly it relates to a tree or stump removing apparatus for connection to an earth working apparatus such as an hydraulic excavator or other motorized heavy equipment used for conveyance in the ground breaking or farm industry.
Stump cutter devices are well known devices that are used to remove tree stumps and sometimes trees from the earth. Known stump cutters are commercially available in a wide variety of sizes and configurations from various manufacturers. Stump cutters and tree removers are available in a trailer configuration where the stump cutter is pulled behind a truck or similar vehicle, in a self-propelled configuration, where the stump cutter includes wheels or tracks and as an attachment adapted to be received by a backhoe attachment on a tractor or the like.
Tree and stump removal is often needed on tracts of land that have been cleared of other obstructions. Often, a large amount of excavation is occurring on the tract of land in conjunction with the tree removal. In light of the presence of one or more excavators or other earth movers at these sites, it has been proposed in the case of stump cutting apparati to provide a such an apparatus that releasably attaches to the boom of an excavator or similar apparatus such that a separate, self-contained stump cutter or removal tool is not needed.
Known stump cutter or removal attachments that releasably connect to the end of a boom of an excavator have not proven to be satisfactory, especially where a large amount of stumps or trees must be cleared from a wide area of land, particularly in the cases of cedar and mesquite trees in the American Southwest. Existing devices rely upon the excavator to continuously maneuver the cutting assembly, and to apply the force needed to engage the assembly with the stump or tree, and are configured such that the operator of the excavator is often unable to see the base portion of the tree or stump and the cutting or removal operations thereon as they occur. Known stump cutters for attachment to excavators and other earth movers are configured such that the operator can be exposed to flying debris, and such that the control of the movement of the cutting assembly is difficult, especially in light of the fact that the movement of the entire excavator, boom, or both must be utilized to move the cutting assembly during cutting operations. The control of an earth mover and stump cutter in this manner to remove a stump is very difficult. In addition, the removal of a stump, especially when repeated numerous times as often required, using an earth mover with known stump cutting attachments, can place a large strain on the earth mover causing excessive wear and tear of the earth mover and associated equipment. Upon encountering a tree or stump, the cutting assemblies of these known attachments transmit large forces back through the frame and other components of the prime moverxe2x80x94e.g., through the boom of the excavator, and can cause excessive wear on these components. Also, with known tree removing apparati and stump cutter designs for attachment to an earth mover, the earth mover and its associated hydraulics are utilized to force the cutting or remover assembly into the stump or tree.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,295,458 teaches a combination useful for uprooting trees which includes a tractor, and a frame mounted on the tractor that extending forwardly therefrom. The frame has forwardly-opening sockets at its front end portion. Detachably mounted in the sockets is a an engaging means that is adapted to engage trees and the like, and apply a bending action thereto, upon forward motion of the tractor. A blade is carried by the frame, which blade is disposed rearwardly of the forward end portion of the engaging means, in a position to pass through the soil beneath the surface of the soil to loosen the roots of the tree that is bearing against the engaging means.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,303,415 discloses a shovel which includes a boom having a dipper stick disposed on the boom for actuation in the vertical plane of the boom. There is a ground-clearing fork mounted on the lower end of the stick, wherein the fork comprises a frame structure and a plurality of parallel socket-forming members affixed in the frame. The socket comprises teeth mounted in it which form members that extend from the lower edge of the frame in the same plane and in the same general direction as the line of the dipper stick.
U.S. Pat. No. 2,650,063 sets forth a grubber for trucks comprising a beam having an inner end pivotally attached to a truck and an outer end contacting the ground, the beam being hinged intermediate its ends, means for maintaining the hinge point of the hinge above a line drawn between the contact point of the beam with the ground and its pivot point with the truck, and force-transmitting means on the beam between the outer end and the hinge point, the beam breaking upwardly on application of force to the pivoted inner end.
U.S. Pat. No. 3,635,269 provides a tree cutter comprising a frame, an adjustable suspension means on the frame for connecting the frame to a prime mover. The suspension means swings the frame in a predetermined direction. The frame includes a substantially flat cutting blade that extends from one side of the frame to an opposite side thereof and having a cutting edge formed thereon, for shearing engagement with a tree when the frame is swung in the predetermined direction for impact with the tree.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,244,560 teaches a tree remover having a gripper including a V-shaped wedging member with a blade projecting inwardly thereof for cutting into a portion of the tree above the roots forming a shelf with adjacent fibers of the tree compressed between the wedging members, and means for exerting an upward force on the gripper by exerting a compressive force between ground engaging support members and an elevatable frame from which the gripper depends. It has an elongated arm pivotally carried by a vehicle on one end thereof and extending forwardly and downwardly therefrom, a first fluid power operated cylinder means connected to the elongated arm intermediate the ends thereof for raising and lowering same, a tiltable supporting frame having a lower inner end pivotally carried upon a free end of the elongated arm and a lower forward end supportable upon the ground, a second fluid power operated cylinder means pivotally connected to the tiltable frame for imparting tilting movement thereto, an elevatable frame member having pivotal connection adjacent an upper rearward portion of the tiltable frame, a tree-gripping means carried by the elevatable frame extending forwardly thereof, and a pair of transversely aligned power operated cylinders. There is a pivotal mounting between a forward lower end of the tiltable frame and forward portion of the elevatable frame member.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,321,761 discloses a device for breaking loose tree stumps from the ground that comprises a vehicle, an arm or the like carried by the vehicle and a tool carried by the arm and engageable with a stump. The tool comprises at least two members movable relative to each other when the tool has been located in an uprooting position relative to the stump. One of the members is adapted to rest against the ground while the tool may lift the stump by means of the relative movement of the members. The tool is pivotally connected to the arm and comprises a claw, which may be introduced under portions of the stump, and a support member for application against the ground, the support member being movable relative to the claw, a pressure exerting means connected to the support member being adapted to press the support member against the ground, while the claw is introduced under the stump, in order to cause the claw to move upwardly, thereby breaking loose the stump from the ground. The improvement of this invention over the prior art is that the support member is pivotally connected to the claw about an axis spaced from the pivotal connection of the tool to the arm.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,180,142 sets forth a device for uprooting trees and brush. The device is rigidly constructed of quarter inch rectangular tubing and comprises a substantially horizontal V-shaped tree-engaging member that preferably has elongate blades thereon for gripping the trunk of the tree to be uprooted. An upper Y-shaped member, extending over the tree engaging member, may be included for supporting the upper part of the tree being uprooted. The device is used by attaching it to a truck or tractor or some other suitable vehicle and pushing the tree engaging member against the tree until it is forced out of the ground. The surrounding terrain is relatively undisturbed. The tree engaging member comprises a pair of rigid, laterally diverging arms. There is a frame for supporting the tree-engaging member, which frame comprises a horizontal portion and a vertical portion for connecting the device to a three-point hitch on a vehicle. The tree-engaging member is rigidly attached to the frame so as to be non-movable with respect to the frame, and the tree engaging member is supported substantially parallel to the ground when the frame is attached to the vehicle. The entire frame is rigid and non-jointed so that there is substantially no movement within the frame relative to the point of attachment to the vehicle or to the tree-engaging member during operation of the device.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,490,340 discloses a root grubber tool for brush which is attached to the boom of an excavator, such as, a track excavator or backhoe. The tool includes a framework which has a pair of side members which support, at the lower end thereof, a cutting blade with its leading edge swept inward and downward to accommodate centering the cutting blade on the roots and providing a deeper cut at the center than at the edges. The framework includes mounting arms to secure the tool onto the boom for working the tool, and may include a cross-support for assisting in gathering smaller brush. The lower edges of the side members are beveled to aid in the cutting operation. The tool may be maneuvered to depths of 18 to 24 inches to grub out the roots of the brush and secure it between the boom and the tool for displacement from the right-of-way. A device according to the invention comprises a spaced apart pair of arcuate side members, each having an upper end, a lower end and a leading edge at the lower end. There is a cutting blade with a leading edge mounted beneath the lower ends of the pair of arcuate side members extending outboard of the pair of arcuate side members. The cutting blade extends beyond the leading edges of the pair of arcuate side members and forms an obtuse angle therewith, and the cutting blade swept centrally inward relative to the leading edges of the pair of arcuate side members to form an obtuse angle along the leading edge of the cutting blade and swept centrally downward to form an obtuse angle with each of the pair of arcuate side members. There is a mounting section for attachment of the tool to the boom of the excavator secured between the upper ends of the pair of arcuate side members. A support plate extends between the pair of arcuate side members intermediate the mounting section and the cutting blade, and there is a pair of mounting brackets secured to the mounting section and the support plate. The mounting brackets are arranged to allow coupling of the root grubber tool to the excavator for arcuate movement of the tool relative to the boom and excavator.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,921,302 teaches a method and apparatus for removal of tree stumps, by first splitting the upper part of the stump with a splitting plate, and then utilizing a digging member to sever and/or dislodge roots of the stump from the ground strata. This apparatus is desirably provided as a splitting attachment to be connected to a bucket of a backhoe or trackhoe. Also, there is a saw plate mounted to the lower side of a splitting plate. First, the bucket is manipulated to have the saw plate cut a kerf in the upper part of the stump, and then the splitting member is moved through the kerf to split the stump. The stump sections that are removed have comparatively little dirt and rocks attached thereto, and these can be more easily burned, cut into chips, or transported. Thus, according to the invention there is a method to split and dislodge a tree stump from its ground embedded position, where the stump has an upper stump portion and a root system comprising roots extending from the upper stump portion into surrounding ground strata adjacent to the upper stump portion, comprising the steps of 1) providing a stump splitting and dislodging assembly comprising a stump splitting means having a leading edge and side splitting surface portions extending rearwardly from the leading edge and also comprising a stump dislodging means having a ground penetrating portion; 2) positioning and moving the stump splitting means of the assembly means to cause the leading edge to engage the upper stump portion and to split the upper stump portion along a substantially vertical splitting plane; and 3) after the upper stump portion is split, then positioning and moving the dislodging means to penetrate into the surrounding ground strata and sever the roots and/or separate the roots from the surrounding ground strata and thus dislodge the stump from its ground embedded engagement in the earth strata.
The present invention provides a device useful for removing trees, stumps or the like from the earth. It comprises a substantially rectangular, planar base portion having an upper surface, a lower surface, a first long side and a second long side. There is a v-shaped notch along one of the long sides. There is also a substantially v-shaped sub-base member that is attached to said lower surface of said base portion. A first vertical support portion and a second vertical support portion each project upwardly from the upper surface of the base portion. A device according to the invention further includes a first horizontal support member and a second horizontal support member, each of which have a first end portion and a second end portion, wherein the first end portion of the first horizontal support member is attached to the first vertical support portion and wherein the second end portion of the first horizontal support member is attached to the second vertical support portion. The first end portion of the second horizontal support member is attached to the first vertical support portion, and the second end portion of the second horizontal support member is attached to the second vertical support portion. There is a mounting means attached to said first and second horizontal support members, wherein the mounting means is adapted to be coupled to earthmoving equipment. A preferred form of the invention includes a first reinforcing member in the shape of a polygon having a plurality of faces that is attached to the first vertical support portion along one of its faces and is also attached to the base portion along one of its faces. There may also be a second reinforcing member in the shape of a polygon having a plurality of faces that is attached to the second vertical support portion along one of its faces and is also attached to the base portion along one of its faces.
A device according to the invention has the advantage over prior art devices, including that of Price as described in U.S. Pat. No. 3,635,269 above, in that a device according to the present invention does not cause a shearing of a portion of a tree or stump during its normal use. Rather, a device according to the present invention grasps a tree, or stump and pulls it directly from the ground in its normal use. Such feature is made possible in part owing to the fact that the mounting means of the present invention which is adapted to be coupled to earthmoving equipment is attached directly to both of its horizontal support members, as later described herein. Such feature has been found to lend to the overall longevity of a device according to the present invention, owing to effective elimination of impulsive forces experienced by the cutting blades of prior art devices during their normal use as a tool for causing a shearing effect on a target tree or stump, and the dulling of blades used on the prior art devices is not encountered in the present invention. Since the present invention does not employ a blade for the purposes of shearing, a device according to the present invention requires less maintenance than prior art devices.
The invention also includes a process for removing a tree, root, or stump comprising the steps of a) providing a device according to the invention attached to a hydraulic excavator or conventional backhoe; b) conferring motion on said device so as to cause it to move beneath the surface of the earth so that said v-shaped void contacts the roots of a tree or stump; c) continuing said motion until said roots are loosened substantially; and finally d) causing said device to emerge from the surface of the earth. The movements necessary to achieve these simple steps are well known to those skilled in the art of using common earthmoving equipment, such as a hydraulic excavator or backhoe.